Jenni Rivera: 'I Want To Become The Mexican-American Oprah Winfrey'

Escrito ▪ 16/07/2012

We all know Jenni Rivera is a busy woman, so we talked to the talented singer/entrepreneur about all of her current projects—including her hot music career, her upcoming clothing line (and upcoming fragrance line) and her new memoir—a book which Jenni says will detail what it was like for her getting pregnant as a teenager, as well as the difficult moment she found out that her significant other had been sexually abusing not only her sister, but also her children.

Jenni, who has been slowly crossing over into English-language projects, also reveals her plans to become the "Mexican Oprah Winfrey" and her desire to own her own English-language network!

Do you enjoy doing reality TV? I love for my fans and my followers and the audience to be able to see the real Jenni—not the one that the media may paint and bring to you. The human Jenni with the kids—and what it's like to see Jenni as a mom, a grandmother, an entrepreneur—and not just a musician. I enjoy doing it and it's a way for my children to be able to capitalize on their celebrity—I'm teaching them that as well. It can be bad because there are times when you don't want the cameras around, but as an executive producer, I can kind of decide what can be cut.

Besides the TV show, what else are you working on at the moment? I have all kinds of stuff going on! {Laughs}. Besides preparing for concerts every other weekend—one which will be on the 7th and 8th of September at the Gibson Amphitheatre—I'm also writing my book, preparing my clothing line—the Jenni Jeans line and the Jenni Sport Line, the fragrance, and writing songs. And besides the professional career things, I'm being a mom and a wife and a grandmother.

How do you like writing your autobiography? It's a little harder than I thought, because your emotions come up again and if it's a difficult story in your life—a difficult part of your life—it's actually like receiving therapy. But it hurts all over again. So it has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be.

So, you're writing the book yourself? We're going to have a professional review everything, but I believe that the story needs to be told in my own words, because I'm the one that lived it. I can't pay a ghost writer to write whatever they feel or thought that could've happened. It has to be me...it's like if I were having someone else go into the studio and recording my music for me—I wouldn’t do that. So, I have to take the time to write it myself and then have a professional review it.

What kinds of things do you talk about in your book? Uh, my personal life. What's made me, me. From a teenage pregnancy at the age of 15 to how it was being a mother, how it was having to go to school and graduate from high school with a two-year-old daughter and go to college. Being in a domestic violence situation—finding out that that person was sexually abusing your sister and your kids. And then how I accidentally became discovered as an artist. I tell a little bit about everything. I'm pretty transparent.

You made your Sundance Film Festival debut last year. Is acting something you're going to continue doing? I'm being offered roles in novelas and actually some roles in Hollywood movies as well. It depends on the role. Acting is not truly my passion. I think I can do it if I put my mind to it. But if it's going to be in LA and it’s a good role, then I would gladly do it.

"Premios Juventud" are next week. Are you going? No, I'm going to La Voz Mexico. I'm going to be one of the judges for La Voz Mexico.

Since you're judging singing competitions, you should take over for J.Lo—she's leaving Idol. {Laughs}. Is she really? I kind of heard it was just chisme. Really, wow! One of these days. Mark my words! They don't know me on that side very well yet, but they will!

You've done so much in your career. What's your next big goal? I want to be the Mexican-American Oprah Winfrey. That's a small goal, isn't it?

You want to be on an English-language network as an Oprah-type? Yes, I do. As an Oprah-type, exactly. That's something that I want. And of course not just to host, I want to OWN it! So, that’s in my future.

You should also release a greatest hits album. Oh, yeah. I would love to. I think it's time for one!